Nightmares
by the Demon Fox
Summary: Autumn left the Hidden Leaf 3 years ago. She was sick of their scowls. She had also fallen in love with Gaara. She went with them to Sand, she was accepted. But what happens when they get called back to Leaf on a mission? Please rate and comment. Thanks!


Nightmares

**I don't own Naruto. I wish I did though. Please read, rate and comment. This is my first fanfic I actually completed. Thanks!**

**Chap 1**

Gaara stood in his room, shades drawn over the windows, blocking out the sun. He was shirtless, letting what little sun got in reflect off his pale skin. He had zoned out in his thoughts. About who he thought would be the new Kazekage, about healing with Hidden Leaf, and Autumn, his long time crush. Autumn was the twin sister of Naruto Uzumaki. They both have the nine-tailed fox inside them. Even though Autumn and Naruto were twins, they were little alike. Autumn had spiky, long hair, (similar to Madara). Naruto had short spiky hair. Autumn had red hair while Naruto had blonde. But probably the biggest difference is that Autumn hated the Hidden Leaf village, while her brother loved it. She hated it so much that shortly after the first Chunin exams, when they were 13, she ran away to the Hidden Sand village. She was accepted by the villagers (mostly by force from Gaara). The head committee of sand ninja let Autumn take the Genin exams so she could help the village. The Sand village's Genin exams are different from the Hidden Leaf. 2 6-year old children would get put out in the desert with 3 days worth of rations and a canteen of water each. Autumn was left out further and with only 2 days worth of rations and a canteen. Gaara remembered his exam. He was left all alone because no one wanted to be his partner. Gaara returned in 10 hours. Autumn returned in 12 hours. The village was in shock. Gaara was impressed. This was the day he realized he was in love with her.

Then it went from there. She was assigned to Gaara's team with Kankuro and Temari. She moved into their house, since teams were required to live together in the Sand. They trained together, ate together, and slept in the same house. A knock snapped Gaara back to current time. He barely turned when he saw Autumn poking her head in a crack between the door and the wall. "Pale boy, you're blinding me. Put on a shirt and get out here." She said jokingly. He kept his eyes where she was for moments after she left. He grabbed the first shirt he saw, which was one of the few he actually saw, and walked into the kitchen. He smelled pancakes, bacon, and toast. His stomach growled. He didn't realize how hungry he was. He noticed that Autumn was cooking and grew hungrier. Because she and Naruto had to fend for themselves, she became a great cook. Out of the 3 sand siblings and her, she was the best cook by far. Gaara took a spot at the end of the breakfast bar and started listening to the conversation. "Really, Autumn, you don't have to do the dishes." Temari stated before taking a bit of her pancake. "No, really, it's fine. I'm used to doing the cooking and cleaning. Naruto was no help." Autumn replied, sliding a plate towards Gaara without looking. He grabbed some pancakes, bacon, and a slice of toast and began devouring the delicious food. He only stopped when he noticed the conversation had stopped and everyone was looking at him. "What?" he said with a full mouth. "We asked you a question: would you like to go to dinner tomorrow?" Kankuro asked. "Why?" Gaara replied before continuing on eating. "Why? Its your birthday, silly." Autumn said, laughing slightly. " Why would I want to celebrate the day I was born? If it weren't for me, mother would still be alive!" Gaara said loudly and angrily. "Gaara, calm down please." Temari said, fear in her voice. "Why should I? I killed mother, our uncle, and countless people. I'm a monster who has killed and should not be able to celebrate a birthday!" Gaara shouted, angered and about to cry at the same time. He stormed off to his room, slamming the door behind him. The house went quite. Temari, Kankuro, and Autumn sat in silence, breakfast forgotten. Autumn broke the silence. "I'm going to go talk to him." She said. "I would not advise that." Kankuro said. "That's a very bad idea." Temari agreed. "Oh well. Someone needs to and you two obviously aren't going to. I can handle demons. I do it every day, after all." Autumn started walking towards Gaara's room. Temari and Kankuro calling after her to stop. She ignored their warnings as she approached the door. She gently knocked on the door.

"Gaara?"

Chap 2

Autumn heard slight movement, which was just like saying come in to her. She twisted the handle and gently pushed the door open. "Gaara?" she called out. "Go away." A little voice said from the corner. It sounded like Gaara had been crying. "Gaara, come out of the corner please. We are sorry if we made you feel bad. We just wanted to do something special for you." Autumn said caringly. "I said go away." Gaara repeated. "Gaara, please come out, for me." Gaara was hesitant then finally stood up, brushing what little sand had got on him. He went and sat on his hardly used bed. He thought to himself "_This is pretty comfy. I should lie on it more often. If only I could sleep without letting Shukaku out." _He was forced to be an insomniac. Autumn sat next to him and put her hand on his knee. Gaara was shocked she was not afraid to touch him. Most people were too afraid to talk to him, much less touch him. Autumn noticed the shock. _"Why was he so shocked? Didn't Temari and Kankuro ever hug their little brother? I'm going to have to talk to them about that."_ She thought to herself. "Gaara, I'm sorry. It's just that we want to do something special, since you never really had a birthday party." Autumn said sincerely. "It's fine. I overreacted. I just miss her." Gaara replied, staring at his knees. "At least her blood runs through your sand. It protects you. I never got to meet my mother or father." Autumn said sadly. "Now lets go. We just got an travel mission." Autumn said, jumping off the bed, pulling Gaara. Temari and Kankuro were surprised to see Autumn unharmed and pulling Gaara. "Guess we can go now." Temari said, grabbing her fan. Kankuro grabbed his wrapped puppet. "Lets get this over with." Gaara mumbled under his breathe. They went down the street to the mission assignment center. They entered and walked up to the desk. The clerk looked up from her computer. "Good morning. How can I help you?" the clerk said, eyes wide and fear in her voice from the red-haired demon vessel. "We have a travel mission. We need four passports to go outside the gates." Autumn requested. "Right away." The clerk said before typing something into her computer. Then she opened a drawer to a file cabinet, grabbed 4 passports, stamped them, and slid them over to Autumn. Autumn picked them up. "Have a great day!" the clerk turned back to her computer. "That's weird. It doesn't say any team has an away mission today." The clerk shrugged and went back to work.

As they walked past the gates of the village, Gaara thought of something. "Guys, didn't we have today and the rest of the week off?" he asked. "Yep." Kankuro said without looking at his little brother. "Then why did we get a mission?" Gaara questioned. "We didn't." Temari said over her shoulder. "Then why did we lie and get passports?" Gaara asked, slightly worried. "You have so many questions today. It's for your birthday." Autumn said next to him. "We've been scoping out an area all week. That's why you couldn't come on any missions." Temari informed him. "_Of course," _Gaara thought. "_They can't go on missions without everyone of our team. How could I have been so stupid?"_ He couldn't believe he hadn't remembered that very important rule. "Temari, mind opening your fan? It is quite hot and it would provide some shade." Kankuro suggested. "Good idea." Temari said lifting the fan off her back and opening it. "Autumn, grab the back. Kankuro, the other side. I've got this side." They all fell into their respective spots. "Gaara, since it's your birthday tomorrow, you don't have to carry the fan." Autumn said. Gaara was going to argue, and then realized that would be rude, so he kept quiet. So they walked in silence, across the border of Konoha and Sand. Gaara wondered how long they would be walking until he caught the slight scent of water and a gentle mist lightly hit his face. He zoned out again for about 5 minutes. He was snapped back to reality when he realized everybody else stopped. He looked up and saw a parting in the trees, saw mountain ridges slowly going up to the top of a 10-foot cliff with a waterfall falling into a crystal blue lake. It looked like nature had made the perfect ramp to the top, practically begging you to jump off the waterfall. He noticed 4 small tents in a circle about 8-feet from a small fire pit, waiting to be lit. Trees were surrounded all around the clearing, but were far enough away to make a decent size clearing. Gaara was captivated in its beauty. "I think he likes it." Autumn said to Temari and Kankuro. "Wow…it's…wow." Gaara was at a loss for words. He felt Autumn brush pass him heading towards the tents. "You guys can stand there like idiots. I'm going swimming." Autumn said before turning and running to the tents. "Me too. Kankuro, what about you?" Temari said as she started towards the tents. "We've been walking in the hot sun all day. I'm covered in sand and sweat. Of course I am." Kankuro said. "Gaara, snap out of your trace and go get changed." He said as he walked off. "I didn't bring anything." Gaara said confused. "We brought it earlier." Kankuro shouted as he went inside his tent. _"That's where my clothes have been going."_ Gaara said in his mind as he went to the only tent he hadn't seen anyone go into. _"Yea, this is mine."_ He thought when he saw the "Happy Birthday" banner on the front. He entered, found his swim trunks, changed quickly, and went to the lake. He saw that the others were already all out. He spotted Autumn in her bikini. _"She looks good!" _Gaara thought. No wonder he liked her so much. "Gaara, come on. It's nice!" His person of interest called out. Autumn realized how fit he was. He had abs, but they were barely noticeable. _"Nice, no wonder I like him."_ She thought. "Fine." Gaara said and walked to the waters edge. "What are you waiting for? You're not going to melt." Kankuro said in chest deep water. Gaara glared at his older brother. Gaara knew he wouldn't melt, but his sand couldn't protect him in the water. He waded in waist deep. The cool water felt good on his hot skin. He relaxed and sighed. He was so relaxed that he didn't hear Autumn go around to the back of him. He closed his eyes. But the second he did, Autumn attacked him from the back, pushing him into the water. They hit the water with a splash. Autumn laughed as Gaara tried to figure out what happened. He meant to glare at her, and then saw her smiling and laughing. He couldn't hurt her, even if he tried. He pushed his now soaking body onto his hands and knees so he faced the water. He saw his reflection. His usually spikey hair was now pressed down, clinging to his forehead. He looked at his reflection and smiled a little. Only the corners of his mouth were turned up, but for Gaara it was close enough." Here, let me help you up." He turned to see Autumns hand extended. He took it and started to get up. He balanced on his knee and flipped Autumn over his shoulder into the water. He half laughed. "Oh now its on." Autumn said, getting up. They started splashing and tackling each other. Kankuro and Temari joined in. The fight continued, all splashing or tackling each other, for about 30 minutes.

Then they started jumping off the waterfall, seeing who could do the coolest trick or make the biggest splash. Then they just relaxed. They sat and talked until about 5 pm. "I'm getting pruned." Temari said holding up her hand. The others looked at their hands and agreed. "I'm hungry. Lets go." Kankuro said jumping out of the lake. "You're always hungry." Temari said before the others followed him, Gaara in the back. They ran back to the camp. "Lets have some ramen. It's fast to cook." Autumn said grabbing a can of broth. "Where did you get that?" Gaara asked surprised. "We left some food here yesterday in a cooler. Then we put a jutsu on this place so no one could find it. Or animals." Kankuro explained. Autumn added noodles to the boiling broth. _"That explains why I didn't see anything until we got really close."_ Gaara thought. "Foods almost done." Autumn said a few minutes later. "Good. I'm so hungry." Kankuro said, grabbing a bowl. "We all are. Don't take it all!" Temari said as she hit Kankuro's hand, causing to drop the scoop into the pot. "I wasn't!" Kankuro shouted at his sister. Temari and Kankuro started arguing. Gaara and Autumn looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and put some ramen in their bowls. Temari and Kankuro continued fighting for 5 minutes until they realized the ramen was getting cold. And that Autumn and Gaara were eating it all. "Hey, save some for us." Kankuro said, grabbing the scoop. "You guys were busy fighting. We didn't want good ramen to go to waste. Enjoy what's left." Gaara said as he got up and walked to his tent, waving good night to his family. Autumn was already in her tent, either fast asleep or reading. _"That girl was always reading."_ Gaara never knew what she was reading. She was so fast she would finish novels in 2 days. She was always going to the library in the Sand village. She loved that library. She said it was so much different than the on at Hidden Leaf. It had so many books. It made her smart and that's another thing he loved about her. He laid down on his sleeping bag, noticing that there was a removable top on his tent so he could stargaze. _"They're so nice."_ Gaara had become good at telling constellations. He got up and removed the cover, and then lay back down. He let his mind drift as he looked up at the night sky, amazed at its beauty.

Chap 3

As the early morning sun started to cross the sky, Autumn awoke with a jerk. _"Great."_ She thought. _"Another nightmare filled night. When will they stop?"_ She rolled onto her side and checked her watch. 6 a.m. She groaned. She knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, but she didn't want to get up yet. She closed her eyes. Imminently, she saw the nine-tailed fox standing over her, teeth barred, growling with hunger. He took his paw and swatted her aside, majorly injuring her. He turned to face her. She snapped her eyes open just before the fox landed on her. She was breathing hard. She pushed herself onto her hands and knees. She sat on her legs and brushed her hair back out of her face. She tried to calm down, leaving her hands on the top of her head. She got up, got dressed, and climbed out of her tent. She smelt the fire burning and saw Gaara. _"Of course he's awake. He can't sleep. Poor Gaara."_ She thought as she started walking towards the fire. She was losing sleep and was extremely tired; at least she could get some sleep. If Gaara fell asleep, Shukaku would escape. "Hey." Autumn said while wrapping a blanket around her. "It's cold. Do you want a blanket?" Autumn asked. "I'm fine." Gaara said staring into a fire. _"Did she always wake up this beautiful?"_ Gaara questioned in his mind. He noticed dark circles under her eyes but they were almost unnoticeable. "Why aren't you sleeping well?" He asked. "They're really that noticeable?" Autumn said tiredly. "I can tell you how to fix that." Gaara said jokingly, pointing to his eyes. "So that's why? I thought it was the raccoon demon sealed inside you." Autumn stated. "It is. It's just a nice convenience." Gaara replied. _"At least she has those nice stripes on her cheeks instead of the word "love" on her forehead and black rings around her eyes. But most of all she can sleep. Even though if she's not getting much."_ Autumn noticed that Gaara was staring at her. Looked like he zoned out again. Autumn shook his shoulder with her hand. "What was that? You zoned out again. You've been doing that often lately. What's got you thinking?" Autumn asked, leaving her hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Just anything that pops in my mind. Mostly unnecessary things." Gaara said, directing his gaze to the fire. He stared at the log as it turned to ash. "We could have longer have longer conversations if you looked at me when we talked." Autumn said, gently placing her hand on his chin and turning his head to face her. "See, isn't that better." Autumn said, leaving her hand on his chin. She smiled. "Yea, I guess it is." Gaara said, the corners of his lips turned upwards in his half smile. He never noticed how blue her eyes were. She never realized how beautiful his teal eyes are. They set there for a moment staring into each other's eyes. They slowly unconsciously moved closer to each other. Gaara reached up and put his hand on the back of her neck. They closed their eyes, inches from each other's faces. They moved closer and closer until their lips met.

Chap 4

They remained there, kissing, for several moments. Finally, when their lungs were screaming for air, they pulled back, breathing heavily and hardly being able to breath the same time. _"He has rough lips, but they are soft, too."_ Autumn thought as she tried to catch her breath. _"Her lips are soft like a cloud."_ Gaara thought. They sat there for a couple minutes before they dove right back into each other's lips. They kissed for several minutes, taking short breaks for air, never letting their foreheads separate. They were so focused on each other that they didn't hear Temari and Kankuro come out of their tents. They stood in shock from what they saw. _"Gaara's finally is getting some action. Good job, little bro."_ Kankuro thought. "Umm…" Temari said. Gaara and Autumn split apart, much to both sides dismay. Gaara and Autumn looked around to see Temari's shock written face and Kankuro's smirk. "What?" Gaara said annoyed. "When did this start?" Temari asked. "When did what start?" Autumn said as she smirked. "You know what I'm talking about! You guys were kissing!" Temari said angrily. Autumn and Gaara turned red. "I can't believe it! It's so… I'm so…Ugh! Temari shouted before turning and running into the woods. "I'll go talk to her. I'm probably the one she's mad at." Autumn said, getting up to chase Temari. "I'll be back. But just in case I'm not." Autumn leaned in and kissed Gaara, and then ran to find the fan-wielding girl. Gaara and Kankuro watched her run off. "Nice!" Kankuro exclaimed, punching his brother's shoulder. "What was that for?" Gaara said as he rubbed his shoulder. "I've known you've had a crush on her since she showed up outside the gates after the first Chunin exams. I'm glad you finally did something." Kankuro said as he sat next to Gaara. Gaara tried to keep a straight face, but ended up half smiling from a thought that popped into his head. _"I actually kissed my crush."_

Temari ran until she was out of breath. She leaned on a tree and tried to catch her breath. _"Gaara is no longer the innocent kid I used to take care of."_ She thought. Her little brother had grown up. She felt a tear stream down her face. Then another, until she was silently bawling. She sank down and sat at the trunk of the tree. There she sat, crying, when she heard someone call out her name. "Temari!" She heard. "Temari!" She heard again. "Temari, where are you?" She did not want to be found so she remained silent. "Temari, I'm not leaving until I find you." Temari realized it was Autumn searching for her. _"Why would she come looking for me?"_ Temari thought. "I'm right here." Temari said, wiping tears from her face. "Temari! Are you ok? I'm so sorry. I understand if you want to punch me." Autumn said kneeling down to Temari. "Temari, I'm sorry. Please don't hate me. I just…" Autumn took a sharp breath in as Temari wrapped her arms around Autumn. "It's fine. I'm just sad to see Gaara growing up so fast." Temari said, releasing her hug. "He's my little brother and I just want to protect him, even though he doesn't need it." "Don't worry, Temari. You still can protect him. I'll just protect him as well. Are we still friends?" Autumn said putting her hands on Temari's shoulder. "Of course we are." Temari said. "Let's go back to camp. Who knows what Kankuro is telling Gaara." Autumn said jumping up and helping Temari up. They hugged again. "Race you back to camp." Autumn said as she took off running. "Hey! You got a head start." Temari said as she started to run. They slowed when they got to the clearing. They saw Kankuro and Gaara talking. Well, kind of talking. Kankuro was talking and Gaara was listening. "We're back." Autumn shouted when they were about 10 feet away. Gaara and Kankuro looked up and saw them approaching. Kankuro handed what looked like a book to Gaara. "What was that?" Temari asked. "What was what?" Kankuro said. "What did you give to Gaara?" Temari demanded. "I didn't give him anything." Kankuro lied as he stood up. "Bullshit. I saw you give him something. What was it?" Temari said, getting angrier with her brother by the minute. "It was nothing." Kankuro said, laughing at his sister's anger. Gaara and Autumn looked at each other. _"Here they go again."_ They both thought. Autumn walked over to Gaara. "Let's go. We don't want to get stuck in this fight." Autumn whispered to Gaara. They looked around for a spot they could watch the fight and not get hurt if the fight got too serious. "Waterfall." Gaara whispered back. "Race you." Autumn said before taking off running. Gaara smirked before he disappeared in a whirl of sand. He reappeared at the top of the waterfall. "Hey! You cheated." Autumn said. She tackled Gaara to the ground. She kissed him. "Cheater." She said. "Yet you still kissed me." Gaara smirked again. He lifted his head and kissed her. "Shall we watch the fight?" Gaara questioned. "We shall." Autumn replied. They sat up and watched the fight continue. They watched Temari get so frustrated and stomp into her tent. Kankuro turned to the waterfall and gave thumbs up before going into his tent. Gaara and Autumn remained on the ridge and watched the sunset. "Gaara, I love you." Autumn said, leaning her head on his shoulder as the last sliver of the sun disappeared. "Love you, too." Gaara said kissing the top of her head. He leaned his head on top of hers. They watched the moon rise. "You should go to sleep. You need it." Gaara said. "I'm fine. I don't want nightmares." Autumn said. So they stayed up through the night, Gaara naming the constellations, knowing little of the visit they would get in the next few days.

Chap 5

"Naruto, wake up!" Sakura yelled. "We have to meet our new teammate." Sakura said after she calmed herself down. "Sakura, be patient. He'll wake up." Kakashi said, leaning against the wall not taking his eyes off his book. "What if we are late, and then our teammate always thinks we're late and then-?" Sakura was cut short. "Sakura, shut up. I'm up." The blond Uzumaki said, finding his clothes. "What's our mission?" Naruto asked grabbing an apple so he had at least something to eat for breakfast. "We have to go meet our new teammate. Then we have a travel mission that should take us about 5 days. We need to get some ninja for help." Kakashi said, finally putting his book away. "Where are we going that is going to take us 5 days?" Naruto asked as he put on his shoes. "I'll explain later. It will be easier when we are in a group." Kakashi said as he opened the door. The three shinobi ran out the door to the bridge to meet their new student/teammate. _"I wonder what she will look like."_ Sakura thought. _"Will she be as pretty as Sakura?"_ Naruto wondered, glancing at said girl. They arrived at the bridge. They saw a girl with gingery red hair and dressed in black jacket with a purple shirt. She was wearing black pants with purple stripes on the sides. She had her kunai knives strapped to her right leg, like most ninja. "Hello, I'm Kakashi Hatake, your new sensei. This is Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. Now that you're acquainted, we have a long trip. Let's go." "Wait, what's your name?" Naruto said, turning to the quiet girl. "I'm Kathirne Belle. Now get out of my face." She snapped. "Would you two hurry up?" Sakura said "Fine." They said in unison before jumping after Kakashi and Sakura. _"A 5 day trip? We got passports so which village are we going to?"_ "Will you tell us now where we are going?" Naruto asked after they left the gates. "You'll find out tomorrow." Kakashi answered. _"This meeting is not going to end well. Hopefully the brother and sister fight wont last too long." _he thought.

***The sand ninja camp***

"Do we really have to go back? It's so pretty here." Autumn said, rolling up her sleeping bag. "I know. I would much rather stay here. But we have missions we will have to do. We are the best Genin team from Sand. We don't want to be late." Temari said. "Yea, if we stay to late we'll get caught in the desert at night. It's not the safest place at night." Kankuro said. They finished packing their things and hopped through the trees until they got to the border of the land of wind and fire. From here they walked, little knowledge of the 4-leaf shinobi just passing where they stayed. The sand shinobi arrived at the gates of the village hidden in the Sand. The gates opened, welcoming them home. They walked through the town, people giving them looks, until they came their house in the center of the village. They entered the house, threw down their stuff, and headed straight to the kitchen. Temari made a salad, Kankuro set the table, Gaara and Autumn helped make the main dish and sides. When they had a banquet, they sat down. They ate and talked. Then Temari and Autumn disappeared for a moment and returned with a chocolate cake with strawberry frosting, Gaara's favorite. On it said "Happy 15th Birthday!" Gaara smirked as the others sang "happy birthday" a day late. The celebration went through the night.

***Leaf shinobi***

Naruto was getting tired. "Kakashi, when are we finding out what our mission is? And where are we going he whined. "Soon enough. We are almost to the border." Kakashi replied. _"How does this idiot not know where we are going? It's so obvious."_ Kathirne thought. _"Great, I'm on a team with an idiot."_ She thought. "Border of what?" Naruto asked. "Naruto, use your head." Sakura told him. "Prepare for walking." Kakashi warned. As they neared an opening in the trees. The sun was extremely bright, especially since they had been jumping through the dark forest. Naruto closed his as he land. He opened them after a minute and realized they had just crossed over the border of fire and wind. Then he put it together. Get some other ninjas, going to the land of wind. "Are you kidding me!" Naruto yelled, making the others turn around. "Naruto, it's for one mission. Just try to get along." Kakashi said, slightly annoyed. "What are they talking about?" Kathirne asked Sakura. "We are going to get Naruto's sister, Autumn." Sakura said. _"He has a sister?"_ Kathirne asked herself. "_I would to be her."_ She looked at Naruto and wondered what his sister looked like. Probably a blond like him. _"But why is she in the sand village?"_ she thought. "Let's go. We already had to camp on night in the forest." They walked for about 30 minutes until they finally reached the gates of the Hidden sand. Two ninja jumped down to check for passports then let them enter.

***Gaara house***

Autumn felt nervous for no apparent reason. She just felt uneasy. "What's the matter?" Temari asked, taking a sip of her tea. _"Autumn loves tea. Why is she just staring at her cup? I haven't seen her take one sip."_ Temari thought. "Autumn, snap out of it!" Temari said snapping her fingers in Autumn's gaze. "What…" Autumn said, popping her head up. "You zoned out. Worse than Gaara does." Temari said. "Is everything ok?" she continued. "Yea, just distracted and I don't know why." Autumn said. She took a sip of her now cold tea. "Bleh. I'm putting this in the microwave." She said, barely being able to shallow her tea. "That's what happens when you stare at your tea instead of drinking it." Temari teased. "It feels important is going to happen. We don't have a mission, right?" Autumn questioned. Temari shook her head. "Then, what's bugging me?" Autumn thought, pulling her tea out of the microwave. She thought for a minute. "Oh well."

***Team 7***

They walked through the village. "Before we go meet the devil, let's get some food." Naruto suggested. They all felt their stomach rumble. "That's not a half bad idea." Kathirne said. They found a ramen shop and dug in. Once they had their fill, they started walking to the center of the town, to the house that housed 2 demons. It was about 7 pm when they arrived at the door. Kakashi knocked, once, twice, three times.

***Inside Gaara's house***

"So what are your plans with Gaara tonight?" Temari asked, raising her eyebrows. "I think we are going out to dinner, then who knows?" Autumn replied. Before either of them could say another word, they heard 3 knocks on the door. "I'll get it." Autumn said, putting down her cap. "I wasn't expecting a guest. Were you?" Temari asked. "No, must be for Gaara or Kankuro. Or more information on what you get from your dad." Autumn said, chuckling while she turned the handle and opened the door.

"**What the hell are you doing here?!"**

**Chap 6**

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Autumn yelled load enough to draw Kankuro from downstairs and Gaara from his room. "Autumn, why are you…" Gaara didn't need to finish his sentence as he rounded the corner. He saw through the door, passed Autumn. He saw a silver-haired man with half his face covered and his left eye covered with his headband. He saw a pink-haired girl and a blonde wearing an orange and black jumpsuit. Then he saw a redhead standing behind them. _"Who the hell is she?" _Gaara wondered. "Good to see you too, Autumn. It's been a while. Can we come in?" Kakashi asked, smiling under his mask. "No." Autumn and Gaara said simultaneously. "Ah. We expected this." Kakashi said. He pulled out a letter and handed it to Autumn. She grudgingly accepted it.

Dear Autumn, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro,

We are requesting the four of you to come to the Hidden leaf village. We are in need of help training some ninja. We are still short on ninja since the Orochimaru accident 3 years ago. The council recommended you four. You are the Sand's best team and supposedly the best teachers available. We request you travel back with Team Kakashi. You cannot decline. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you,

Tsunade, Fifth Hokage.

Autumn looked up from the letter and glared at her former sensei. "We have no choice, we have to go." She said turning around and walking away. She handed the letter to Temari as she walked passed. Autumn went and stood by Gaara, who had the same look of annoyance on his face. Kankuro told the leaf ninja to enter. "Try not to kill them." Temari said to the two Jinchuriki. They both sighed heavily. "It's getting late. We will leave in the morning. It is dangerous to travel at night." Temari stated looking out the window. "Fair enough. Shall we find a hotel?" Kakashi said, turning to his team. "No hotels are open. You will have to stay here tonight." Kankuro said. "Wonderful. Where will we be sleeping?" Kakashi asked. "Sakura and the other girl can sleep in my room." Autumn offered. "Speaking of which, who are you." She turned to the redhead. "I'm Kathirne Belle. I'm on Team Kakashi now." Kathirne replied. " I figured that." Autumn snapped. "Kakashi and Naruto can share my room. Not like its gonna get used." Gaara offered. And what are you going to sleep?" Kakashi asked. "I don't sleep." "There's a couch. Now go." Autumn and Gaara said. Autumn want didn't want to admit she had nightmares. "_I wonder if Naruto's having them as well._" She wondered, glancing at her brother. She felt someone staring at her. She turned to Gaara, who was trying to get her attention with his eyes. "You okay?" He mouthed. Autumn nodded yes. They turned their attention to the others. "Autumn, you can sleep in your bed. Ill sleep on the floor and Kathirne can have the couch." Sakura said. "No, its fine. You're our guests, you deserve the bed." Autumn replied faking a smile. "We have a long trip tomorrow. Lets get to bed." Kakashi suggested. They all dispersed to their respective rooms. Gaara and Autumn remained. "Naruto" Autumn called her brother. "What do you want?" He snapped. " Can you not be a jack ass for a minute?" Autumn told her brother, feeling anger rise. "What?" Naruto said annoyed. "Have you been having nightmares?" she asked timidly. " What kind of nightmares?" Naruto asked. "You'd know them. Never mind." Autumn stated noticing Gaara had disappeared. "Naruto, go to bed. You'll need the energy." She suggested, walking out the front door onto the roof. _"Where's Gaara? I thought he would be up here. What's taking him so long?" _she thought.

***Gaara***

"_I'd better get out of here. She probably wants a private conversation."_ Gaara thought as he slipped out of the room unnoticed. _"I think I'm gonna grab that book before I go up."_ Gaara walked to his room, forgetting Kakashi would be in there. He opened the door and grabbed his bag. He dug for a minute before pulling out a little green book. "Make out Tactics?" Kakashi said, scaring Gaara. His sand flared up. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Kakashi said, sitting on he end of the bed. "I'll be going now." Gaara said, heading to the door. "Just don't try any of that with Autumn." Gaara felt his face get hot from Kakashi's comment. "I know she likes you and vise versa. During the Chunin exams she was cheering for you. I tested my theory by saying you wouldn't win. Man, was she mad. She came instantly to your defense." Gaara blushed even more. He quickly exited and went to the roof. He glanced around. _"She's probably still talking."_ He sat. Little did he know that autumn was hiding, waiting to surprise him. She snuck up behind him after about 3 minutes. "Kankuro gave you make out tactics?"

**Chap 7**

Gaara jumped for the second time that night, almost dropping the book. He hid the book behind his back. "You scared me." He stated, breathing still off. "Obviously." Autumn said. "So that's the book?" "Um…" was all Gaara could say. "I… can.. Um…" He was cut off by Autumn pushing her lips against his. He slowly relaxed into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. They needed air, neither of them had learned how to kiss and breath at the same time, and pulled away. They kissed again and again. Autumn finally stopped the kisses. "As much as I want to, I don't think we can keep this up all night. How about we… Read!" she snatched the book from Gaara. She held it up in front of her. "Shall we?" Gaara smirked and sat down. Autumn sat next to him and cuddled up. Gaara read aloud. Occasionally he would kiss her head and she, his shoulder. "Autumn, do couples usually have 'pet names' for each other?" Gaara asked, regarding the book. "Sometimes, if you can come up with one." She answered. "Can I call you my fox?" Gaara asked. "Of course. Will you be my Gaara?" Autumn replied. They agreed with a kiss. She snuggled closer to him as he read on, unaware of the silver-haired Jonín watching from a distance.

Autumn snuck into the living room the next morning. The clock read 6 am. _"I'd better wake everyone and make breakfast."_ She thought. Autumn walked downstairs to Kankuro's room. She knocked "Kankuro, wake up." She waited a few minutes for an answer before knocking more forcefully. " Get your lazy ass out of bed!" she shouted. "I up! Calm down!" she heard through the door. "Temari, you up?" Autumn asked through the next door. " Yeah, I'll be up in a few." Temari answered. She went upstairs to her bedroom. "Wake up." Autumn heard movement. She went to Gaara's door lastly. "Naruto, Kakashi wake up." Autumn headed back out to the kitchen. She saw Gaara getting out the ingredients for pancakes. "I know what you want." She said as she entered the room. "Can you teach me how to make your pancakes?" Gaara said almost embarrassed. " Of course, my Gaara." She walked over and began instructing him.

Naruto woke to the noise of his sister knocking on the door. He groggily opened his eyes. He felt a pain in his rib cage. "You're laying on my foot." His sensei said bored. "No shit." Naruto sat up, stretching. Naruto stood up and fixed his shirt. "We have to leave soon. Your sisters making breakfast." Kakashi said, exiting. Naruto followed. They met the girls in the hallway. Together, they walked down the hall. They reached the stairs and saw Kankuro and Temari walking up them. Kakashi greeted them warmly. They all walked into the living and saw Autumn swipe the empty pancake bowl with her finger and dab it on Gaara's nose. They laughed. Autumn stood on her toes (Gaara was only two inches taller) and kissed off the pancake batter, removing it. They kissed again then realized they weren't alone anymore. Autumn, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro watched the shock ridden faces of Team 7. Autumn and Gaara got back to working. "To be continued?" Gaara questioned. Autumn smiled and giggled. " Good morning, or at least you two seem to be having one." Naruto grumpily said. Gaara knew Naruto was glaring at him, so he wrapped his arm around Autumns waist, angering him more. _" He's protective over Autumn."_ Sakura thought. Everyone at breakfast quickly to be able to leave sooner. " I hate you, but your cooking's amazing." Naruto said. "Don't talk with your mouth full, dobe." Autumn put her plate in the sink. When everyone was done, they cleaned, packed, and locked their house for the long journey ahead.

**Chap 8**

"Why did we agree to do this?" Gaara asked as they approached the Academy. "We didn't, we were forced." Autumn answered. " No, we owe them." Temari said. Autumn looked around and back to the ground. She had been under the scowl of the villagers more than usual. She was now known as the nine tails Jinchuriki and a traitor. "You're covering your beauty, my fox." Gaara said, stepping in front of her, and picked up her chin. He gently kissed her. "They hate me here." Autumn said sadly. They went inside to the classroom. Iruka was speaking. "Here are your other two sensei's to pick from. Now remember, you must respect them. They can take you outside the gates but less than a mile. Now, you may pick who you want to teach you." The students stood and slowly went to Temari and Kankuro. Two children watched Gaara and Autumn from the back of the group. "Something's never change. No body liked me when I attended." Autumn said glumly. Gaara and Autumn started walking out of the room. They got down the hall when they heard "Please wait!" They saw two kids running up to them. " Please train us," the young girl said. "You're sure?" Autumn was shocked. " Of course." The boy replied. "I'm Gaara, and this is Autumn. Thank you for letting us teach you." The group walked off to find a place to get to know each other. "So what are your names?" Autumn asked after a while. "I'm Amelia." The black haired girl said. She had pretty green eyes. The boy on the other hand had blonde hair and blue eyes. His name was Hishi. "Nice to meet you both. This is going to be fun.

Month later

"Have you found the clearing yet?" a blonde asked. "We will, now be quiet." His partner told him. They soon stopped. "This is it. Be ready, Ill get Autumn, you get the others. We need to get ready. They will be here soon." The black eyed man said. "Leader will kill us if we don't get her." The blonde said before getting into position. "No blowing up anything, idiot. We kill Autumn and get out." The blonde smiled "But if we get the-" He was cut off by a hand covering his mouth. _"Great, the one tails too."_ The black haired man thought. Its was predicted the would run into the one. They soon heard a noise and saw Autumn. "Good bye Autumn Uzumaki." The raven said.

"Come on! I know you can go faster!" Autumn egged on her students. "What happened to the racers I started with?" "You haven't seen anything!" Amelia yelled speeding up. Hishi caught up too. "Almost there. Try to keep it down. Last thing we need is the Akatsuki showing up." Gaara warned. "Akatsuki, please. If they think they can hurt my students, they are so wrong. I will fight to the death" Autumn said as she landed. "I'm starving, lets eat!" She pulled out sandwiches and passed them out. They ate and relaxed. "Someone's near. I can sense their chakra." Autumn whispered to Gaara. Autumn stood up. "Hey, kids, go get team Kakashi and bring them back. Its important they come as fast as possible. "Shit, we were noticed." The man in the tree looked at his partner. "Come out, bastards." Autumn said drawing a kunai. "Damn, oh well. We've been spotted." He jumped out of the tree wearing a black robe with a red cloud on it. "Uchiha!" Autumn got into battle position. "Deidara, come here. Its no use hiding." Itachi called to his partner. Deidara came and stood bye him. "What do you want?" Autumn said. "I want to see if you will keep your promise." Itachi said, attacking Autumn. "Autumn!" Gaara yelled. "I'd be more worried about yourself, un." Deidara attacked Gaara. _"Ill help when this motherfucker is dead." _Gaara thought.

Autumn blocked Itachi's attacks. _"Don't look in his eyes whatever you do, not the eyes"_ was running through her head. She got distracted and Itachi cut her with a shirican. _"Dammit, focus!"_ Autumn thought. The fight ensued, both sides getting cuts and scraps. "Multi-shadow clone jutsu!" the real Autumn got lost in a sea of herself. Itachi looked around, trying to find the real one. Even with his sharigan, it was difficult. He turned when he heard "Rasengan!" He flew back into a tree. "He's knocked out." Autumn brushed off her hands and all the clones disappeared. She looked at Gaara to see his opponent captured. "Senseis! Autumn!" they heard. " Naruto I'm fine." Her brother landed. " I heard it was an emergency. We heard fighting I got worried I should've known you were able to handle them." Naruto said standing about 5 feet from his sister. "Good job! You successfully executed a mission alone." She congratulated the kids. She turned, walked a couple feet and turned again. "We should prob-" "SENSEI LOOK OUT!" Autumn turned, but was too late. In front of her, Itachi holding a chakra sword that went straight through Autumn.

**Chap 9**

Autumn looked down, chakra sword through her chest like she wasn't there. "You bastard. You missed on purpose." Autumn fell when Itachi slowly pulled the sword out. She took sharp inhales and tried to stand. "Just stop. You're going to die." Itachi pushed her over with his foot. "I will keep my promise. I wont go until you do." Autumn straightened herself. "You're strong willed." Dei, now out of Gaara's trap, said. "We will leave now. Have fun with death." Itachi said as he jumped off. Deidara was close to follow. "Autumn! Just relax! Let me heal you!" Sakura stepped forward. "No, they're right. I'm dead." Autumn looked at Hishi and Amelia. "Don't cry. I'll be fine. Just keep working hard. Kakashi, get them out of here. They're too young." Kakashi followed Autumn's orders. Both children were crying as Kakashi carried them off. The last thing they ever saw of their sensei was her smile and wave. "Naruto, I'm sorry to leave you alone. Frist mom and dad, now me, I'm sorry. Sakura keep up the good work. You'll pass Tsunade one day." Autumn stopped and tried to catch her breath. "And Gaara, My Gaara, I love you. I knew about them when we arrived. I thought they would leave. I should've told you sooner. I'm sorry." Autumn coughed up some blood. "They're gone. Gaara, the nightmares are gone..." Autumn smiled and collapsed. "My fox…" Gaara said quietly and started crying. She gave up, her heart gave up. She was gone. Sakura tried medical ninjutsu, but to no avail. She was gone. She was with her parents. All Gaara could think about were her last words.

"The nightmares are gone…"


End file.
